THE JACKSON CHORAL SOCIETY AT BRIARWOOD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
NOVEMBER 11, 2003

   "Fern Hill" (1959) by John Corigliano opened this concert of mid-20th
century American music, with orchestral accompaniment. The text is by 
the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and the music, not familiar to me, was at
times dissonant and at other times tender, but basically tonal and always
satisfying. Randall Thompson's "Frostiana" (1959) completed the concert,
scored by the composer for chamcer orchestra. It is a setting of seven
of Robert Frost's poems, "The Road Not Taken" (mixed voices), "The
Pasture" (men), "Come In" (women), "The Telephone" (mixed), "A Girl's
Garden" (women), "Stopping by Woods on a Sunday Evening" (men), and
"Choose Something Like a Star" (mixed). The music matched the moods of
the peoms; "A Girl's Garden" was particularly spirited, while some
included close harmony ("The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods");
all were vintage Thompson. I thank Director Jamie Meaders and the Jackson
Choral Society not only for this most satisfying evening, but for
four decades of such evenings!
                                                     - Glenn A. Gentry